Broadcast:
Pediatric Robotic Assisted Laparoscopic Pyeloplasty

On Thursday, June 30, 2005, at 3 p.m. ET (19:00 UTC) Children's Hospital Boston will broadcast a robotic assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty live from the operating room. The procedure will remove an obstruction from a kidney, and reconnect the kidney's drainage system. The Webcast is part of Children's ongoing effort to promote medical education, and allow consumers to see the latest and most innovative medical treatments available to them.

Craig Peters, MD, a urologic surgeon at Children's and associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, will perform the surgery. Alan Retik, MD, Surgeon-in-Chief and Urologist-in-Chief at Children's, will moderate the event to explain critical portions of the surgery and answer e-mail question from viewers during the live Webcast.

Using minimally invasive robotic methods, surgeons are able to perform the complete reconstructive surgery laparoscopically with very high precision, eliminating the need for a large surgical incision. "I find that with the three-dimensional imaging I can visualize more effectively, and perform more precise and complex reconstructive surgery inside the abdomen," says Peters.

"Although operative times have increased with the use of the robot compared to traditional open pyeloplasty, we are getting closer to open surgical times, and hospital stays have decreased from three days to one," says Peters. The robotic surgery also reduces blood loss, postoperative pain and allows for a quicker recovery from surgery.

While success rates of open and robotic assisted pyeloplasty are similar, robotic surgery has not been performed as long as the open procedure. Further analysis is needed to determine if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, including cost and longer operative times. "I think robotic surgery is the way to go," says Peters. "With robotic assisted pyeloplasty leading the way, this technology has changed the way we do surgery and has allowed us to provide new treatment options to our patients. "

Children's Hospital Boston is the nation's premier pediatric medical center. Founded in 1869 as a 20-bed hospital for children, today it is a 421-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care grounded in the values of excellence in patient care and sensitivity to the complex needs and diversity of children and families. More than 100 outpatient specialty clinics are located at Children's. Children's Hospital Boston is the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, home to the world's leading pediatric research enterprise, and the largest provider of health care to the children of Massachusetts. For more information about the hospital visit: www.childrenshospital.org